Trickle
by AnneLea
Summary: Pidge has been moody and off for a couple days. Shiro spots the problem first, but keeps it to himself out of respect. Eventually, everybody knows, and she's so embarrassed. But what to do? Crossposted from AO3


Going through puberty sucked bad enough. Going through it as the only female of your species on a giant ship was hellish. Sure, Allura had once offered to talk girl talk with her, but, back then, Pidge was on such a one track mind that she didn't dare give herself up as being a girl. Later on, Allura explained that the mice had ratted her out, pun intended. Still, Pidge kept to herself about any girly thoughts that came to mind.

What was the use of a dress? Her shorts breathed just fine. Why bother with doing her hair? It was short for many reasons, ease of care being one of them. Why put on make up? Who was she trying to impress? If she used it, it would just sweat off when they ended up in a battle or training. Painting her nails was out of the question. Finger nails needed to be kept short and the paint would chip off when she worked. Toe nails meant nothing, because they were always covered.

No. What mattered was fitting in with the guys. Pidge was the smallest and had the most to make up for in a fight. She couldn't even properly restrain the enemy since the enemy was usually at least three times her size. Girly things would get in the way, take up precious time. They were useless, and, thus, were cast aside the moment she chose to become Pidge instead of Katie.

Shiro knew and understood all of this about her. He only called her Katie when she was down in spirits and they were totally alone. She loved that about him. She loved having someone she could totally relax with, show vulnerability to, but not be treated like a girl by.

There came a time, though, when she started feeling a little less platonic towards Lance and Keith. Their muscles were filling in more each month that they all spent in this fight against the Galra Empire. Even she was more built than before, but they came into manhood faster. Hunk was even slimmer now, and Pidge caught herself day dreaming once or twice about how he might look once he shed the extra fat. Looking to any of them, sometimes even Shiro, could bring a blush to her face. It didn't help when the air settings got screwy one time and she walked in on the guys all practicing hand-to-hand combat while shirtless. Yeah, her hormones were definitely picking up.

Still, she didn't talk to Allura about it.

Coran was the first person to notice her occasional blush around the guys. He thought she was sick and pulled her off to the side to ask her a multitude of questions. He meant well, she knew.

For the last couple of days, she really wished she had let Coran put her in a pod and run diagnostics. Right now, her lower stomach was cramping off and on, and she didn't feel like eating much. That was saying something these days. With the extra physical demands the team was going through by battling almost every other day, training each day, and such, she had grown accustomed to eating a bit more than she had on Earth. Then her growth spurt had hit last year, and she was almost five feet tall! During that time she had eaten more, too.

Right now, she was cramping as if she'd been running all day, then dropping randomly for a set of crunches or leg-ups. Food stayed down, but it was hard to swallow more than a few bites that would then sit heavy in her stomach. Tiredness and a low level head ache plagued her, yet she couldn't quite sleep well, either.

Walking around the training deck to cool down over worked muscles after a good work out against Lance, she heard Shiro tell the guys to go get some down time on their own. Instead of joining them, he pulled her off to the side with a knowing look.

"I'm really trying, Shiro," she defended herself before he could speak.

A soft smile and a shake of the head was her initial answer. He spoke so lowly that anybody else would only hear a muffled vowel at best. "You should go shower before you eat."

"Why? You usually don't."

"Trust me on this."

Confused, she did as she was told anyway. And then she made the same discovery he had. Had any of the others seen? The discoloration on the outside of her suit was only slight, but, to her, it stood out like a bull's eye. A bright red spot on white right in the crotch.

Almost afraid of what she'd find, Pidge looked at the inside anyway. Yep. More. Actually groaning out loud, she stripped off her soaked underwear, now aware that it wasn't just a lot of sweat, and threw them in the trash.

She'd officially started.

Showering really was a good idea after all. The smells her body concocted for sweat were bad enough, and this just made it so much worse.

Showering done, she contemplated what do do. Putting on a fresh pair of underwear would only work so long. She was going to bleed through them, too. And then they'd be trash. She only had about nine pairs and had just discarded one. There had to be a better way to go about this. Toilet paper? Sure, but what if it slipped out and then dropped on the floor from the leg of her shorts? What if it fell out right in front of one of the guys?

Frustrated, cramping, tired, and head buzzing, she went ahead and made herself something by wrapping the toilet paper around the crotch of her underwear several times, then adding a few layers on top before wrapping that down, too. It would have to work for now.

Pulling up the contrived pad and panties, she groaned for a whole new reason. It felt like she was wearing the worlds thinnest, driest diaper. Well, if the castle was their world, technically, she was.

Pulling on her stretchy set of sweat pants, she was glad at least something fit without feeling like it was trying to cut her in two. A t-shirt later, she started for the door. She needed to find Allura. Oh, wait. She had to go back inside and find something to hide her boobs. Even they had grown a little, but, right now, they felt a bit fuller than they should. Her nipples were sticking out through the fabric of her shirt. Why was it that the last few days she felt colder than normal? Even when training?

Oh. Right. She was on her period.

Sighing, she grabbed up a sweater Lance had picked out for himself. She had gotten it because Hunk had tried his hand at washing clothes instead of dishes for a change. Needless to say, it didn't fit Lance any longer. It didn't fit Keith, either. It did hug her nicely, though. T-shirt replaced by a thicker fabric, she headed out again.

"Hey, there you are!" Hunk greeted her at the kitchen door. "What took you so long?"

"Needed a shower," she mumbled, resisting the urge to grab her head. Was he always so loud? Shiro caught her eye. They shared a knowing look as she mouthed a "thanks."

"We all need showers," Lance wrinkled his nose after pretending to sniff the air. "Since when did you get all girly and start showering before food?"

This time, she couldn't resist the urge. He was so damn loud. Her head pounded every time his voice sounded. This time, she picked up a spoon and threw it at the cause of her misery. Well... her external cause. "Quiet down, all of you. My head hurts."

"You didn't get hit that hard," Keith commented, squinting his eyes at her, confused. "Did you?"

"No," she grunted in response. "Hunk, got anything puree I can have?"

"I have the Kathian steak already cooked, but... well," he looked around a bit, "I guess just plain food goo unless you're willing to listen to the blender."

"Warm goo, please," she requested, sitting down between Keith and Shiro and putting her head on the table. It's coolness was a bit comforting even if the rest of her body was chilly.

Shiro's warm left hand came to rest on her lower back, gently massaging. It felt so good she just had to let out a moan of contentment. Every body else went silent. Since when did she like to be touched like that? Hunk and Keith shared questioning glances, but Lance had his sights narrowed in on her.

"How about that aspirin like stuff?" Lance suggested.

"She needs something more like ibuprophin or acetemenephin," Shiro answered, oddly knowledgable.

"Oh," Lance backed up. "Got it. Got it. Say no more. I'll get you something, and a heating pad, too. Mom always wanted a heating pad."

Pidge looked up as Lance was running out of the room. "What is he doing?"

"Helping you," Shiro smiled.

"Are you sick?" Keith questioned as Hunk brought a plate of food goo.

She slowly put a small amount into her mouth and swallowed. Yes. Perfect temperature. This she could do.

"No. I will be fine. Just need to find Allura."

"Oh, did you figure out what was going on with pod 83?" Hunk asked hopefully. "Is that why you're slow today? Work on it all night?"

"No. I slept all night for once." Well, that wasn't completely true. She had woken up twice feeling like she needed to use the bathroom, but for nothing.

Keith, Shiro saw, was finally putting the pieces together. Keith whispered above her head, as if hoping she couldn't hear him, "Is she? Did she?"

"First one," Shiro sighed out, rubbing his thumb over her spine.

"With you?" Keith demanded.

"Say what?" She had let Shiro admit what she was going through for her. This, though, was rather confusing. "Did I do what with Shiro?"

Keith didn't answer, instead looking scared to repeat his question more obviously. Hunk stepped in. "I think what Keith here is trying to ask is... Did you two do the nasty?"

"Hell no!" Her face turned bright red as she pulled away from Shiro. "I started my period, assholes!" Realizing what she'd just said out loud, she tucked back under Shiro's arm. "Hide me."

He let out a low chuckle, shoving her back into her own seat. "Nope. You need to finish your food. Let Lance bring you what goodies he can find, and I'll see about finding Allura so you can talk to her about... other things."

Keith, she realized now, had scooted a couple seats away. Hunk was leaning up against the opposite counter.

"Fine," she groaned, focusing back on her food.

Shiro left, but the other two stayed, watching her like she had grown a second head or something.

"Stop staring at me," she demanded between bites. "Also, why did your minds jump to sex? I think I deserve an explanation."

"I'm out!" Hunk announced, throwing up his hands and backing away. "Keith, buddy, you're on your own. It was your question anyway. Bye!"

Pidge focused in on Keith. "Speak."

He took a minute more. Her staring didn't stop. "You two seem to have some sort of a... connection the rest of us don't. Not even I am as close to him as you, and I've known him the longest. Then he started touching you in here, and... well... he's only human. We all get the urge."

"Well, he's the first person to know what happened today," Pidge corrected further. "I guess he must have had a girlfriend or something before he left Earth the first time, so he knows about this stuff."

"I doubt Lance had a girlfriend, and he seems to know without being told."

"He helped his mom raise his siblings. Some of them girls. So, yeah, he knows."

"But, his sisters are younger than you."

"A lot of girls start younger than me," she rolled her eyes. "If you're so curious about it, ask one of them. I don't want to talk about this with you!"

"But, it's like, important, right?" Hunk's voice could be heard from the other side of the door. "Don't girls start shaving when this happens?"

"Hunk, what are you doing out here?" Lance's voice rejoined theirs.

"Uh... nothing... Keith thought Pidge and Shiro were doing the do." Hunk stumbled through a half-explanation.

"And you got thrown out because...?" Lance questioned, leading the way back into the kitchen, arms full.

"He threw himself out and fed me to to wolf," Keith accused.

"Well, wolf be gone products are here!" Lance announced, setting down his arm load. "I've got pain meds, heating pads, soothing patches that can be worn under clothes anywhere, bubble bath in five scents, a candy that's the chemical equivilent to chocolate, tea mixes with higher levels of stimulants like coffee has, and, most importantly, the Altean form of pads and tampons. You may need Allura to help figure some of it out. This one says washable, so I'd avoid that one unless she tells you how to use it properly. Oh, and I found a couple of small firm pillows, too."

"Why the pillows?" Hunk poked one experimentally. Yeah, it was firmer than the mattresses.

"If you don't know, you don't have to worry about it," Lance smacked his hands away.

Both mortified by the products laid out before them on the table, and grateful at least one of her guys truely did know what she needed, Pidge ducked her head and attempted to scoop up everything and run. No luck. Not only could she not hold everything Lance could, her thighs were cramping up hard.

She ended up on the floor.

Hunk and Keith were still keeping their physical distance, so Lance was helping pick everything, including Pidge, back up when Shiro returned with Allura, Coran hot on their heels.

"Now wait just one moment here!" Coran was calling out. "She needs to be segregated from the males!"

"I already told you that isn't true of our species," Shiro grabbed him by the collar before he could stumble over the items strewn about the floor. "She's the opposite of fertile right now, and, even when she is, we are capable of handling ourselves. Most of us won't even know it."

"Hold on, what?" Pidge was confused and mortified.

"Don't bother with them right now, Pidge," Allura reached out a hand to help her up. "Let's get all these things to your room. This is something best kept between women."

"Hey, who do you think brought her all that stuff?" Lance piped in.

"You, also, have the strictest beauty routine on the ship," Allura reminded.

Even Pidge had to snort at that. Okay. She could do this. She could talk about girl issues. Not just with Allura, it seemed. Hunk was at least curious. Keith was intrigued. Lance knew way more about the subject that pretty much any guy other than a doctor really needed to. Shiro knew certain things. Coran was being protective. Allura was going to work out the details.

Maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't be so bad after today.


End file.
